


Read, Approve, Sign

by PrinceSnoozy



Series: Gladio Rarepair Week 2019 [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, F/M, Gladio has an OC as a Shield ok, Secret Relationship, also Regis is a serial adopter since he's not constantly dying, everyone is Regis's kid except Gladio, kind of, peaceful AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 22:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18678637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSnoozy/pseuds/PrinceSnoozy
Summary: Gladio is the prince of Lucis in a world where Niflheim never came to power and the war never happened. Clarus is king and Regis is his Shield, and Regis has a really bad habit of adopting kids instead of just having his own.It's up to five.For the prompts Secret Relationship and Library.





	Read, Approve, Sign

**Author's Note:**

  * For [clownfishae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/clownfishae/gifts).



> So I'm a good two or three months late with the next installment of Gladio Rarepair Week. As usual, this is an AU of [Touch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13822860/chapters/31788903), though as of this writing one of the characters hasn't been introduced yet. So I guess take this and the other fics as a preview of the dynamic.
> 
> For those who haven't read it (which is probably most of you), [here are Naomi and Aquila](https://prince-snoozy-ao3-dump.tumblr.com/post/182730205095/throwing-this-here-for-ao3-purposes-carry-on). Just putting that out there so I didn't have to go on a long-winded description within the fic itself.

Gladio stepped out of the elevator in a brisk walk toward the barren hallway beyond on a floor he _definitely_  wasn't supposed to be on. Nonetheless, he gave the intersection a quick sweep with his gaze, checking for movement, specifically of the Crownsguard, and a specific member of it: his Shield. 

Not like he'd get in too much trouble if his Shield found him down here, but having her mad at him was less than ideal. And besides, he _hated_  making her mad.

But he hated even more the meeting he just left with the council and his father, something boring about tariffs with Accordo and Tenebrae. And economics was far from his strong suit, but he didn't see the point in raising or lowering tariffs when the ones in place were doing just fine. It was almost like the council was just looking for something to argue about today instead of dealing with things that actually mattered, like the homelessness rate in Lucis and the overcrowding of shelters and the like. There was also the staggering number of kids in orphanages that should've been of particular interest to his dad, but, sure, tariffs.

He pushed open a large wooden door about halfway down the hall, giving one last glance back toward the elevator before stepping inside. He closed it behind him quickly, the alarming thump sending an echo down the hallway outside.

Good thing it was empty.

He looked up toward the line of shelves in front of him, set at right angles to the walls and rising upward toward a high ceiling. Tables were placed in strategic areas near each section, each one equipped with enough chairs for six people to sit and read at in peace. And each table within his line of sight was just as barren as the hallway leading here, to the Royal Library.

Peace and quiet.

He made his way straight toward the back, to the section labeled Historical Fiction. He made for a deep crimson binding, the name Heirut emblazoned across the spine in silver lettering. He allowed a small smile and a sigh, then turned his attention toward the corner to his left. Noct had a nap hole in that corner somewhere, and, with Noct and Prompto on Crownsguard duty, it was just fine for him to borrow it for a few minutes or hours, or however long it took Ignis or Naomi to figure out he was missing.

So here he was, the Crown Prince of Lucis, on his hands and knees trying to find the seam where the false shelf connected to the real one in the bookcase. He ran his hand over the spines, trying to remember exactly which color sequence of books was on the false shelving. Real book, real book, fake book-- no, no, that one's real, too.

Maybe he should've paid more attention when Noct came scrambling out of there last time.

_Thump._

_"Woo-hoo! Get some!"_

Gladio whipped his head around and froze. His gaze landed on another bookcase, jutting out from the one he investigated, but there was definitely a table on the other side of it, accessible from the main passage through the center of the library. And he hadn't checked it on his beeline for the rear shelves.

"Not fair, you cheated." Alright, that voice was definitely Noct.

"How? By having such awesome guns?" Which meant that one had to be Prompto.

Neither of them would blab on him for skipping out on whatever Iggy had on the schedule today, even if all three were all brothers, adopted or otherwise. Relieved, he stood and dusted himself off, and made his way around the bookcase toward the table on the other side.

"Not his fault you've been skipping out on weights." 

He froze just as he heard the voice, and he was already just around the edge of the shelf, the table and himself in full view of each other. And here, in full Crownsguard regalia and staring at him from the table, were three of Shield Regis's kids: Prompto and Noct sitting across from each other, and Aquila sitting on top of the table. And the third was definitely one he didn't want to run into.

"Hey~ Highness," Aquila waved, and his stomach dropped when she smirked at him.

"Aren't all of you supposed to be on duty?" he asked, hiding the book behind his back a hair too late.

"I am on duty," she replied before the boys could answer. "I'm babysitting."

"Yeah, and we're giving her someone to babysit," Prompto spoke up. 

"I don't think babysitting your _adult_  little brothers is a good excuse for skipping out on guard duty," Gladio smirked.

"Neither is reading historical smut to skip out on royal duty, but I'm not one to judge," Aquila retorted with a shrug. "You don't tell our dad we're hiding in here, and I won't tell Nao or Iggy where you really are when they eventually text me."

"Would they even believe you?" Noct asked, rolling his shoulder.

"They have to: I'm the oldest, so I'm the most responsible one," she replied with a lift of her head. 

"Dad also says you're the most troublesome one," Noct replied.

"C'mon, you can't say I'm worse than Prompto," she said back with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey!" Prompto protested, standing up from the table and pointing at her. "I'm the youngest so that makes me the most well-behaved and the _favorite_."

"Says who?" Noct asked.

"Says me! And dad, probably."

"Pretty sure the only one of you who isn't a handful is Iggy," Gladio spoke up, crossing his arms with the book still in one hand. "And maybe Naomi, if she didn't make a habit of throwing things three times her weight in training."

"Someone has to be able to throw your giant ass out of danger," Aquila laughed.

"You think I'd rather be a foot shorter, like you?"

"I mean, yeah, since you're a pretty huge target."

"Better that than getting stuck just because someone put me on a high shelf."

"That was _one time_."

He laughed, then remembered something.

"Also," he continued, "isn't Naomi older than you?"

"By like three weeks, come on, dude."

"She's still older."

"So are you gonna kick Prompto's ass or what?" Noct asked abruptly, gaining Aquila's attention.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Thought you had winner."

"Oh RIGHT, I did!" She hopped off the table and rounded it to Noct's chair, giving his shoulder a playful but rough shove. "Move it, pipsqueak."

"Who are you calling a pipsqueak, you're shorter than me," he whined back.

"The one who just lost to someone shorter than him."

"Nice!" Prompto said, and he stood up out of his chair and he and Aquila high-fived.

"Alright, got it, I'll hit the gym today," Noct relented, standing out of his chair and moving to the one to his right. 

"I'll join you," Gladio offered.

"Don't you have a bunch of paperwork to finish and dinner with your dad tonight?"

"Shh, I'll get all that done _and_  the gym."

"You wanna take winner, Highness?" Aquila asked as she and Prompto took positions to arm wrestle.

"Sure," he grinned.

"Cool."

"Count us off, Noct," Prompto said.

* * *

"Aw, man!" Prompto whined after his arm hit the table.

"And the reigning champion is defeated!" Aquila announced way too loud for library etiquette.

"Better luck next time, kid," Gladio grinned in triumph, unclasping his hand from Prompto's.

"I don't need luck," Prompto replied. "What I need are arms that are the size of my entire torso."

"If you do that make sure me and Noct can investigate with our cameras," Aquila grinned.

"I'll look hot and you know it!"

"I'll be the judge of that," Noct quipped.

"Congrats, Your Highness," said a new voice from behind him.

He froze. But then unfroze, and turned around in his seat.

And there Naomi was, standing with her arms crossed, leaning against one of the bookshelves.

"Shit!" Aquila yelped as she jumped to her feet. She reached into her Crownsguard jacket and pulled out a potion. She threw it on the ground next to her chair, where it shattered with a crash of glass. "SCATTER!"

Noct and Prompto leaped to their feet in a flurry of knocked over chairs and scrambling feet. Noct went for the exit toward the back, across from the closed area of the shelves, while Prompto shadowed Aquila in her effort to slip through the narrow gap between Naomi and freedom.

Prompto made it through. Aquila got clotheslined and fell to the floor.

"Heya, sis," Aquila waved with a cough, pulling herself back to her feet. "Sorry, can't chat, uh--" she looked at her phone-- "got a date with a completely different crown prince, seeya!"

Naomi threw her arm out again before Aquila could get around her.

"You're a terrible influence," Naomi said, just loud enough that Gladio could barely hear it. "But thanks for making sure they stayed out of any actual trouble."

"Just what big sisters are for," Aquila replied, slipping past Naomi's arm as it dropped out of her way. "Good luck, Highness!"

And off she went, running out of the library and headlong into the hallway after her brothers, leaving Gladio with her older and probably very angry sister.

"Uh, hey, Nao," he began, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Ignis was looking for you," she said, her voice even and face stern.

"Really? What for?"

"Paperwork, the same paperwork he's been hounding you about for a week?"

"Right, sorry, keep getting distracted by more interesting things."

"I can see that."

"It's just something I have to sign, right?"

"Read, approve, and sign."

"Right." 

He sighed. She sighed.

"So is her fiance really in town, or was she bullshitting me again?" she asked, sounding exhausted.

"Beats me. Her future mother-in-law was up there, though. Want me to send your dad off to look for her?"

"If his mom's here, he's probably here, too. And as long as she doesn't try to parkour up the outer facade again, I'm not worried."

"You're always worried." He smirked.

"Then I'm not more worried than normal."

"That's better." He took a step forward. "So... how mad at me are you for helping them play hooky?"

"I could be angrier."

"Too mad for me to make it up to you?"

"Depends on how." Her voice was stern, but her eyes lit up.

"Come with me and I'll show you."

* * *

It wasn't ten minutes later and Gladio and Naomi were in his quarters on the plush sofa in the lounge area. Well, she was on the sofa, and he knelt in front of her, holding one of her hands in his own, He pressed soft kisses to her knuckles, mouthing at the smooth skin on the back of her hand. She relaxed from his touch, and he felt a spark of bravery, running one hand up her wrist to her forearm. He slid her sleeve up an inch, then another, running his fingertips over the black-lined feathers that made up her tattoo. She brought in a sigh through her nose, and he smiled against her hand.

He followed his hand with his lips up her arm, peppering small kisses up the feathers, right up to the crux of her elbow, where the fabric of her Crownsguard jacket snagged and wouldn't slide up any farther. He lifted away from her arm, then, rising from his kneel to be level with her face. He reached forward and brushed some stray strands from her forehead, following the motion with a light caress down the side of her face. His eyes met her blue, but she averted her gaze away. He smiled.

He pressed his lips softly to her forehead, then dusted down over her eyelids, her nose, and down her right cheek, holding her face gently on the right side. He mouthed down to her jaw, then her throat. He tightened his grip just a hair and ran his tongue over her pulse point, at last eliciting another sigh from her. A hand carded through his hair, and he pulled back an inch to gaze up at her, meeting her gaze again.

She kept it this time.

He surged forward, and a hand pressed against his chest to stop him, millimeters from her lips, which parted just slightly. He sighed, then nodded, and took the hand at his chest into one of his own, pressing chaste kisses to the knuckles again, never breaking eye contact with her.

She was so perfect.

He leaned forward again, slower this time, and finally pressed his lips to hers, soft and chaste, his free hand carding gently through her tawny hair.She surged forward out of nowhere, and his fist snagged in her hair . A small moan rumbled in her throat, and her hands found his face, sliding up around his neck and through his hair. She nipped at his bottom lip, and his lips parted just slightly, opening up as she slid her tongue along his, her hands tightening in his hair. 

She leaned up, her lips working against his with a renewed fervor. He saw stars as her hands slid back toward his face and fingers dug in just behind his jaw. Before he regained his senses, he landed on his back on the couch, her lips gone and his breath knocked out of him. She leaned over him with her knees digging into the cushions, on hand on his chest, the other braced near his head.

"Guess you're not _that_  mad, are you?" he said breathlessly, managing a small smirk. She smirked back.

"I never was," she replied, leaning down so her hair tickled his face. "It's why I went to find you myself."

"So this was your plan all along?"

"You could say that."

Their breath mingled, then he leaned up off the couch just a hair, seeking out lips again.

_Thump thump thump._

Three sharp knocks on the door in precise succession. He groaned, as did she, her head tipping back. He eased her up so she sat on her heels and slipped away, making his way to the door as swiftly as possible. He smoothed a hand back over his hair as he walked, hoping to the Astrals that he could look at least somewhat presentable and not at all like he was making out with someone in here.

He pulled the door open at a practiced angle, one that just showed himself and _not_  the rest of the room, and almost froze.

It was Iggy.

"Uh, hey," he said, forcing a casual smile. "I was just about to come find you."

"I'm sure," Iggy replied, adjusting his glasses on his nose. 

Well, he could get credit for trying to lie at least.

"So, what's up?" he asked, leaning on one arm against the door frame.

"I have that report you've been putting off." Iggy held out a blue folder, which Gladio took from him. "It's been amended, so you have until tomorrow evening to approve it."

"A whole additional day." He grinned. "Guess it's good I waited, yeah?"

"A fortunate outcome, nothing more." He smiled, nonetheless. "Dinner with your father is in two hours. Don't be late."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Of course."

Iggy gave a shallow bow for appearances, and then a much more informal wave. Then he turned to his right and walked away from the door, and Gladio closed it as swiftly and quietly as possible.

"Look who got lucky," Naomi whispered from behind him, and he smiled as her arms embraced him from behind.

"Sometimes procrastination pays off, huh?" he chuckled, tossing the folder onto the small table by the door.

"Still not really my thing," she replied, her chin leaning on his shoulder. "Too much stress."

"That's what I have you for." He turned in her arms, the motion a bit awkward until she loosened her grip a bit. 

"Oh, is that what I'm here for?" she asked, a sly smirk on her face as she stared up at him. "Stress relief?"

"Nah." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. "But you do help."

"Really..."

Their mouths crashed into each other again, quickly working up to the heated fervor they almost had going before their interruption. Her arms locked around the back of his neck and pulled him downward, his own hands pressed into the small of her back under her Crownsguard jacket. He opened his mouth to her again and pulled her in close--

_Thump thump._

"Goddammit," he sighed against her lips, then tilted his head back with a sigh and raised his voice. "Who is it?"

"It's Regis," came the answer from the other side of the door.

Great. First Iggy, and now his own father's Shield.

"Just a second!"

Naomi sidestepped to the hinge side of the door and leaned against the wall just next to the doorframe. He smoothed his hair over again, glancing over to her for approval. She gave him a thumbs up, and he nodded. He pulled the door open, this time a bit more than with Iggy, so the room behind him was visible.

"Something up with my dad?" he asked as he met Regis's gaze.

"Not at all, Your Highness," Regis replied, adjusting the cuffs of his uniform. "I'm here for Naomi."

Gladio didn't have to even look at her to know that Naomi widened her eyes behind the open door.

"Naomi?" Gladio asked, flashing a crooked smile. "She's not here."

"I know my daughter well, Prince Gladiolus, much moreso than the others, I'm afraid. I know she's hiding on the other side of this door." He rapped his knuckles against the wood, as if to solidify his point.

"I can assure you, Regis, she's not--"

Regis held up his hand, in such a way that Gladio fell silent. 

"I won't reveal the nature of your relationship with her, especially as I wish my own incompetence in keeping track of three of my children is kept a secret as well."

"Oh," Gladio chuckled. "I know exactly which three you're talking about."

"Then we have an understanding?"

"We do."

Regis smiled.

"Well, firstly, have you seen them?"

"Last I checked, they all ran out of the library in a hurry about fifteen minutes ago. Dunno about the other two, but I think Aquila was running off to meet with Ravus."

"That would be quite the feat, seeing as Ravus is still in Tenebrae."

"I knew it," Naomi whispered. Both Gladio and Regis laughed.

"Come on, Nao," Gladio smiled, motioning with a nod of his head. "You've gotta have an idea where they ran off to."

Naomi slipped around the edge of the door, moving his arm out of the way so she could face her father. She'd fixed her hair by now, no signs of the activities they'd been starting visible; however, there was no doubt that Regis knew what they'd been up to.

"They're meeting you for dinner, right?" she asked.

"Yes," Regis confirmed with a nod. "They're more than thirty minutes late."

"Arcade, then."

"Pardon?"

"Prompto probably suggested he and Noct go to the arcade. Aquila said she was 'babysitting' them, so she probably tagged along. So, they probably got distracted and lost track of time." She paused for a moment. "Did you try calling them?"

"I tried Prompto, but I got his voicemail."

"He probably forgot to charge his phone again." 

She pulled out her own phone, straight from the armiger in a sparkle of blue shards. She tapped around a bit, then held the phone out, the low _brrrrrrrrn_  of the ring tone coming through the speaker.

_Click._

_"Hey, Nao, what's up?"_  Aquila's voice amongst background noise of cars passing and two people talking in hushed voices.

"You got her to answer?" Regis asked, seeming bewildered.

_"Oh SHIT this was a trap."_

"It's not, Ila," Naomi corrected. "Did you forget about dinner?"

_"Yeah, we all kinda did--she's got DAD there--we're on our way back to my car now, don't worry."_

"Don't speed too much."

_"Would I do something like that?"_

"Yes. Yes you would."

Gladio laughed.

_"Shut up, you royal giant. I'll drive safe, promise."_

"So, what... fifteen minutes?" Naomi asked.

_"Give or take, yeah."_

"Alright, that's all I need to know."

_"Cool. And, uh, sorry, dad."_

"It's alright," Regis grinned, obviously holding back a laugh.

_"See you soon. Bye."_

"Bye," Naomi and Regis said simultaneously, before the _boop beep_  through the speaker indicated the call disconnected from Aquila's end.

Regis chuckled to himself, running his hand back through his hair.

"You should really teach me your secrets sometime, Naomi," he grinned, sounding sheepish.

"No secrets here," she replied, disappearing the phone back into the armiger. "We have an 'understanding' as sisters."

"You mean she knows exactly how far you can toss her ass," Gladio grinned. Regis laughed.

"That, too," she confirmed.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it, then," Regis said with a shallow bow. "And don't, uh, be irresponsible."

"Dad..."

"Are you up to date on your medication?" His genuine concern ripped a rumbling laugh out of Gladio.

"Yes, dad, it's fine, we're good." She covered her eyes with her hand.

"Good, good, well, goodbye." He gave them both a wave, then turned down the hallway in the opposite direction Ignis had, likely heading to wherever in the Citadel they were having dinner tonight.

Gladio closed the door, his eyes on Naomi, who still had her own eyes covered with one hand.

"Not going to eat with them?" he asked with a grin.

"Knock it off," she huffed with a small smile. She removed her hand and gazed up at him. "I have another dinner date with a certain prince and his father."

"Oh, really?" he grinned wider, closing the meager distance between them.

"Yes, really," she confirmed, sliding her fingers back through her long locks. "Besides, I'm not in the mood to watch my dad struggle to rein in those three."

"Seems like it would be funny."

"It is when you don't end up being his backup. It's Ignis's turn for that."

"Then we've got all the time in the world." He followed the motion her hand made through her hair with his own.

"At least until it's time for your own dinner date with your father." She smirked.

"That's true."

With a gentle motion, he lifted her chin and met her lips again, planning to cherish the next couple of hours of privacy, secure that their secret would be kept just that, a secret.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea was fun, so maybe after Touch (or during a hiatus) I might draft a full multi-chapter series out of this concept.


End file.
